A Great Divide

I had mixed feelings about this movie after seeing it as part of a festival run. Perhaps I went in with too high expectations because I fit the target audience. I'll start with the positives. I thought Ken Jeong was awesome as was Jamie McShane from Wednesday and Miya Cech an up and comer from Netflix and Disney. Smart casting of some better known actors. The woman playing the grandma and the teen boy that is a local bully were both good too. A big problem for me was the portrayal of exaggerated racism that didn't feel realistic even as a person of Korean descent. The movie moved slowly at times and the story line was disjointed. Overall I liked about as much as I disliked so I'll give it 5 stars.

As an Asian American dad, I'm happy to see a movie like this on screen. I loved Ken Jeong in a drama role and the storyline brought me to tears several times. I could relate to the relationships and heartbreak the characters felt. Beautifully shot and hopefully brings some insight to those who have not dealt with racism and prejudice before. The movie is an education in what many Asian Americans have felt for generations and continue to feel, especially during the pandemic. It's a story that needed to be told and makes me feel seen as an Asian American man. I hope to see more movies like this one.

I had high hopes but this is a total political letdown. The acting is decent but the premise is disappointing. It portrays Wyoming and its people in a very unfair light. It seems to be completely fiction, which was perhaps the goal. I was very disappointed in all aspects of this movie. The writing and storyline stink, as does the directing. One of the only redeeming qualities is the setting, which is stunning. The producers and directors should be ashamed of themselves and have clearly never spent any time in Wyoming. The people are very kind and accepting. This movie pairs a very unfair and immaculate portrayal of the state.

I was looking forward to this film because I love the actor who played the dad. However, I was not a fan. The message was good, but I couldn't stand the acting by the son and Elli. The acting was so bad or their lines were not great. The actor who played the son gave dull energy, and the girl was over exaggerating. Why did they make the son's character dumb. It lacked storylines, and it did not give history off the only characters in the story. If they were meant to be in middle school, then it was okay acting because they were super naive. But if the characters were supposed to be in high school, why did the writers make them sound dumb. Everyone else did good acting wise. The scenery in the film is a nice close up of Yellowstone. This movie had potential and maybe they wanted the message to shine more than the plot and acting which is my takeaway of the film. I wish they either made it a horror like how strong Get Out was because the quiet scenes felt a little like that, but the communication in the film was cringey and forced. Again, if the goal was to feel good about being part of such an impactful film given the 2020 rise of racism towards Asians, then that was the only thing achieved in the film.

The characters were way too passive for the intensity of the topic, I got tired feeling angry for their subservient behaviors. The mother shared a horrible experience she had as a child, then why in heavens name would you relocate to Wyoming, thereby purposely opening up your child for a similar experience. We also did not see the son in the school environment. I continued watching, because I had already invested the viewing time. I would not recommend this movie to anyone, the storyline is way too frustrating.